Five More Minutes
by SRN713
Summary: L's childhood friend and companion named Z always wanted to figure out a way to make the detective fall asleep during their time at Wammy's Orphanage. She knew there had to be a way to get him to sleep. When she thinks she figured it out one night, will it be enough to put the world's greatest detective to sleep whenever she wants, or is she just wasting her time? [LxOC; One Shot]


_He watched her silently from his comfortable bed as the young girl of about twelve years – two years younger than himself – stared out the window of his room of Wammy's Orphanage. His coal black, panda like eyes scanned her intently as his thumb unconsciously rubbed against his lower lip; a habit that was deemed inappropriate in certain cultures, but meant little to him. He could not help but stare at her as she stood there in the late hours of the night, looking up at the stars with him. She was waiting for him to shut his eyes and fall asleep, sleep she claimed he needed. The girl knew, though, that he was unable to do so due to his insomnia; she sometimes claimed that was his only excuse and that it would not work on her. Despite that simple fact sewn into her mind, she still chose to stay up as long as she could with him, trying to figure out ways to put her dear friend to sleep. That was until she herself passed out on his bed instead as he just watched her in his normal crouch._

_That was what happened on most occasions: she would come to his room in the late hours of the night, sit next to him, talk a little, run to his window to look at the stars, come back to him and then pass out unintentionally. It was strange, he had to admit, that she would do something like this just for him, but he said nothing in protest._ _In any case, she did not mind staying up till late hours of the night with him. Despite knowing that much, it greatly bothered him to know she was willing to do so much just so he could fall asleep only to pass out from exhaustion herself. As much as he let her know he would be fine without another day's sleep, she still stayed in his room nonetheless. She always told him that, whenever he made the futile attempt at telling her he would be just fine, she was going to make him fall asleep one day; she was not going to stop seeing him until it actually happened. When he asked why, she said she wanted to be there when it happened, to know that she actually helped him out with something in his life._

_His hand moved from his lips as it continued to watch her, falling onto his knee. Was it really possible for her to make him fall asleep like she said she would? He doubted that, but she was persistent to try._

_He noticed her turn her head to him, her bright green eyes glistening under the moonlights clear rays. Her waist length, light brown hair swayed lightly in the cool breeze entering in through the open window, and her side bangs covered a very small portion of her close set eyes. He could not help but stare at her for a long moment, watching as her cream-colored skin radiated in the lighting of the moon. She looked…dazzling, but that was something he would never say aloud, especially when she was standing in the room with him. There were times when he actually did not want to believe such thoughts, knowing he and the girl were only the best friends. However, it happened to be a reoccurring thought whenever there were days like this. He could not help but think such thoughts unconsciously. Besides, there were days when he would agree with his head._

_"It's such a beautiful night," she said, a warm smile spreading across her lips, "don't you think, L?"_

_L blinked his panda eyes once._

_"I guess it does feel a bit more peaceful tonight than the others," he responded._

_The girl motioned for him to join her at the window as she said, "Come see for yourself. You don't know what you're missing."_

_He remained in his spot, eyeing her for a long moment, as if giving her the message he had already seen what it was like many times before, therefore did not wish to see it again. Her smile faded from her thin lips as she continued to stare at him, looking deeply into his black orbs and waiting for him to move. When he still did not move and got the message that he was sending her silently, she sighed before making her way over to the raven-haired boy of fourteen years. Once she stood in front of him, she took his hand lightly and began pulling him a bit, forcing him to get off the bed with her help. He did not say anything in protest as he followed her, walking with one thumb in his jean pockets. He sauntered behind her in his usual hunched over form across the hardwood floor with his bare feet. She still held onto his hand as she continued to pull him to the window, and he noted how warm and soft her hand was compared to his cold, pale one that lightly held onto hers. He did not realize they had reached the window until he felt the light rays of the moon face upon his pale face, giving the world around him an eerie glow._

_"You see how pretty it is," said the girl as she stared up at the moon and the stars._

_L glanced down at her for a long moment._

_"You do know I've seen many days like this before, right, Z?" He asked, making the girl, named Z, look up at him._

_"I know that," she responded, "but that's only because you don't sleep."_

_He glanced back out at the sky, moving his hand up to rub his lower lip once more._

_"Blame my insomnia," he said. "It's what's keeping me up every night."_

_Z shook her head at his words, unconsciously squeezing L's hand._

_"Just because you have insomnia doesn't mean you can't sleep, L." She told him. "It means you have difficulty sleeping, but it doesn't mean you can never do it."_

_He did not look back at her as he responded, "Yes, that is true. But still, it's preventing me."_

_That familiar smile L seemed to grow…fond of…appeared on her twelve-year-old face._

_"Which is why I'm going to help you," she said before leading him back to his bed, L trailing close behind her._

_He watched her for a long moment, contemplating her words in his mind. _Was it possible_, he wondered, _to help me fall asleep?_ No. There was no way a lone girl could actually help him fall asleep. It was impossible to do, even she knew that by now. However, she was determined to do her best and figure out some way, anyway, to help L go to sleep. He could not recall the last time he went to sleep, since it was so long ago when it actually happened. Still, it was not as if he could never fall asleep. It was just as he said, it was just very difficult to do so. Nevertheless, Z continued to find ways to figure out how to get him to sleep. She knew sleeping pills were out of the question, since she hated the idea of drugging someone just to get them to sleep. Playing music was did not seem to help either, though he did find out that she was musically talented on the piano. In fact, it even kept her up all night just listening to it. She seemed to be running out of ideas as time went on, but she never lost hope or gave up trying to figure something else. She surprised L greatly with her determination, but of course, he had nothing against it. Instead, he actually admired it._

_Z quickly sat down on L's bed, crossing her legs in an Indian style before patting the spot next to her; she was motioning for him to sit next to her. He did not hesitate as he climbed onto his bed and returned to the crouching position he was in before moving to the window._

_"So how exactly do you plan to make me fall asleep, Z?" He questioned, glancing at her with his big coal black eyes. She now wore an intent look, as if she were thinking deeply about what to do. Before, it took her at least a few seconds to figure out what she was going to do, but now the time seemed to extend as she continued to think about it._

_After another moment, a pouty expression appeared on her face before crossing her arms and huffing._

_"I'm not sure anymore," she muttered, glancing back at her panda-eyed friend. "I've been thinking day and night as to what I could do next, but nothing seems to come up anymore." She sighed in defeat. "It's like my brain has started to shut down all of a sudden."_

_"How can your brain shut down when we attend school five days a week?" L questioned. "You should be using more for your classes."_

_Z gave him a dull look, but smiled._

_"L, I'm almost number one on the class list just like you," she responded. "I've been too busy doing school work when I should be worrying about how to put you to sleep."_

_A small, barely noticeable smile graced L's pale lips._

_"That is true," he muttered before biting on his thumbnail. Suddenly, Z gasped, earning a glance from L. He spotted a huge smile on her face before she looked over at him. "What is it?"_

_"I've got it!" She said in a low, but excited tone. "I've got an idea!" L remained silent as she crawled on his bed to the other side and turning back to him. "Lie down," she commanded, pointing to his pillows._

_He blinked a few times, confused as to what she was planning._

_"What are you thinking, Z?" He questioned as he slowly crawled towards his pillows._

_She looked away for a moment before taking in a deep breath and looking back._

_"You'll see," she said. "Trust me."_

_He continued to watch her as his head hit his pillows, replaying the last words a few times. Trust me. Of course, he trusted her. He had been her only friend at the orphanage, and she did not seem to mind his oddities one bit. In fact, she found them cute and made him unique in his own way. She even went as far as to defend him from other kids who pointed those oddities out in the open. Although L did the same thing, his, she assumed, was out of his own habit, while other kids did on purpose for their pleasure. She enjoyed being his friend and was always by his side, sometimes keeping an eye on other children in the area in case someone would try to approach them for with an unknown intent in their minds. Not only that, but she was just as smart as L was, leading her up to the top of the class right next to him. The children found it odd. Having two people at the top of the class just was not right and there had to be one who was smarter than the other was. When she thought about it thoroughly, she decided L was the smarter of the two. Her reason? Just a simple answer, as she had said:_ _"L always seems to be one step ahead of me in...well, everything. No matter what it is."_

_Even now, L seemed to be one-step ahead of Z._

_"You plan on staying with me tonight," he spoke. It was not a question nor a command, but more of a statement. Z seemed to flinch a bit before looking away once again. L did not notice the blush rising on her cheeks, but he sure felt one on his own._

_She sighed, sounding defeated, before looking back at L and saying,_ _"I told you that you were one step ahead of me." She crawled over to his side and lying down next to him. She happened to be quite close to him, but he did not seem to mind as he turned to his side and looked into her green eyes._

_"But why stay?" He questioned. "You could get in trouble if they find you here."_

_Z shook her head, a few strands of her hair moving to fall into her face._

_"I don't care about that," she responded. Then, out of nowhere, L felt her arms wrap around his torso and pull him closer, feeling her head against his chest. "All I care about is getting you to sleep. That's all."_

_He stared down at her for a long moment, feeling another blush appear on his pale cheeks, as he slowly wrapped his own arms around her in a rather awkward manner. He was not sure as to what to do at that point. He did not want to push her away, for that would just be plain rude, yet he was not sure if he should pull her closer. Deep down, he wanted to stay like this with her, feel the warmth of her body against his; it was a feeling that was almost foreign to him, yet it was also comfortable. It was not the first time, though, that he had been this close to her. It was just that he had never been placed in the situation Z put him in. Surprisingly, though he seemed to…enjoy it a lot more than he expected. Unconsciously, he felt himself pull her closer to him, listening to the sound of her breathing. She was fast asleep; just like every other night before this one._

_"I guess your plan backfired, Z," he muttered, burying a hand through her soft hair and taking in her light scent of grass and roses._ _Suddenly, he felt his eyes grow heavier and heavier as he continued to hold onto Z. His head unconsciously moved so he could take in her scent even more. He did not realize what was coming over his body, and he was unable to stop it. He pulled her closer before closing his eyes completely._ _"Then again, maybe not…" He muttered before sleep took over the rest of his body._

* * *

The Kira Investigation Team silently stared at the two sleeping and unmoving forms of L and Z, or Ryuzaki and Luna respectively. Every single member that was in the room at that moment – with the minor exception being Light Yagami – were once again extremely shocked surprised to find two of the world's best detectives who were in search of Kira…fast asleep on the couch without so much as a care in the world. It was probably the third time this week that they found them like that and were unsure what to do. Z was holding onto L, arms wrapped around his torso, while one of L's arms was wrapped around her and the other was buried in her hair. Both were in a deep slumber; it was as if nothing in the entire world would be able to wake them up no matter how much anyone would try. According to the time, the two had been in the same position, sleeping the day away, for a good six hours – a new and shocking record for L since Z had arrived a few months back to assist with the Kira case.

Before the famed Z/Luna arrived to help the Japanese Task Force with the Kira Investigation, one of the members would find the insomniac Ryuzaki sleeping from a half hour to an hour, only to wake up and be fully prepared for the day. It was such an unusual amount of time to sleep, but that did not stop the detective from working long and hard on catching Kira. When Z came into the picture, however, things had changed completely for him. Of course, she helped tremendously with the investigation when needed - she, too, came to the same conclusion that Light was Kira, hence the alias "Luna," but there were times when she thought L needed a little break from working so hard. The first time she called him out on her desire to see him sleep shocked the investigation team; even Light was a little surprised by her straightforwardness.

"Ryuzaki, you need to go to sleep," she suddenly spoke while looking over some papers in order to familiarize the team's progress. Everyone, except L, looked over at the young woman, surprised to find she would say such a thing out loud, especially to L, someone who seldom slept to begin with.

Said raven-haired detective glanced over at his childhood friend and accomplice.

"I feel perfectly fine, Luna," he reassured her, referring to her by her alias, before taking a small bite of his cake. "Besides, I'm busy with the Kira investigation, so there's no need to do so right now."

Z stared intently at him, setting down the papers she was looking over. Her look gave everyone a chill down their spines, except for Light and L.

"_Ryuzaki_," she said with an extremely serious tone of voice. For a moment, he felt a little the child caught with his hand in the cookie jar, and Z acted as the ticked off mother who caught him but kept a serious tone as she stared him down. "You need to rest and stay focused on this case." Nobody noticed Light eyeing the two suspiciously, observing the two rather intently.

"I am focused. I do not need to sleep right now," L simply responded, staring at the screens once again as he moved his fork over the strawberry on his cake.

Z clicked her tongue as she reached over to his pastry, taking the aforementioned fruit that sat atop it, before turning her chair toward the few investigators standing nearby.

"Matsuda," she spoke up, making the young man jump at her commanding voice, just as she popped the fruit in her mouth. She ignored the slightly hardened gaze that L sent her; that strawberry was his favorite part of the cake.

"Y-yes, Luna?" He responded hesitantly.

"When was the last time," she swallowed the strawberry, "Ryuzaki actually fell asleep?"

This time, L's hardened gaze vanished as he turned his chair to face her completely.

"What are you-" He started, but was cut off by Z placing a gloved finger on his lips, not even looking at him and keeping her eyes on Matsuda. No one noticed the shade of pink appearing on the detective's cheeks.

From his perspective, Z had grown in all of the right places and turned out to be a very athletic young woman with a cheerful, outgoing, yet independent and mature personality. It suited her, since she left the orphanage on her own and headed to the United States many years ago. She kept contact with L over the years, though, and he had brought her on to some of his cases – one of them being Los Angeles BB Murder Case two years ago. Her light brown hair turned a bit darker over the years but kept its sheen. It was kept back in a low ponytail with a blue ribbon wrapped around it in a criss-cross fashion until it was tied . A blue rose was placed on her ear, going well with her light brown hair, but she only wore inside on some occasions. Her skin had changed a bit to a slightly more tanned shade instead of the cream color L had grown used to seeing back at Wammy's House. Her eyes – the familiar light green shade – had put on a serious look as she watched Matsuda and waited expectantly yet patiently for an answer. Her outfit consisted of a black tank top and black and blue cheetah print, diagonal zipper vest. She also had with matching black shorts that covered her bottom with about ten inches of clothing. Her legs, slender and athletic as they were, were shown, but not enough to make it seem she was desperate; just enough so she would be able to run and have breathing room. Running shoes, similar to converse, were securely fastened to her size eight feet, the color being black. The only thing that stood out was the blue belt she had with the shorts and on her vest. Black gloves covered her lightly tanned hands, and a mysterious symbol was sewn on the backs of each of them. It belonged to a group she was a part of, L knew that for sure, but he paid no mind to it. Instead, he worried about her and only her.

Because to him, she was the most beautiful sight he had seen in many years, and he had seen _a lot_.

"Uh…" Matsuda started. "I'd say about…from a few weeks to a month ago?"

Z pursed her lips, raising an eyebrow at his words. Then, she responded with a small "Humph" and a "Thank you" before turning her attention back to L. She stared at him for a moment, removing her finger from his lips and getting out of her seat.

"Ryuzaki, you are going straight to sleep," she said, taking his arm firmly but gently like a mother would her child before pulling him out of his seat.

L reluctantly followed behind her, leaving the team dumbfounded and shocked.

"Wait, Luna, you can't just take him away like that," said Light, getting up from his seat. Z, or according to the team Luna, stopped and turned to look at him, her eyes dull and without life. "We need him for this investigation."

"Light is right," spoke Soichiro Yagami, Light's father and the Chief of the Japanese Task Force. "Without Ryuzaki, we won't get as far as we have right now."

"Ryuzaki and I have at about the same level of deduction skills, Detective Yagami," she explained. "In fact, it's so much alike, I've also come to the conclusion that your son is the Kira we've been hunting down." Light stared at her with unnoticed fake shock as she turned around once again. "I will take L's place while he is resting, so don't worry. It will be as if he never left the room."

With that, Z led L toward the elevator and up to his room. She did not return until at least an hour and a half later, appearing as if she had fallen asleep after putting L to sleep. Wanting to be sure it was true, Matsuda asked to check up on him three hours later, to which Z allowed him to do. He left the room for a good few minutes, but when he walked out of the elevator, his face was paler than anyone thought possible. Clearly, he was shocked to find the world's greatest detective sleeping soundly without a care in the world on his own bed. Z simply smiled and returned to the work at hand. L did not wake up until an hour later. Z knew she did not have to get up to retrieve her friend when she heard the elevator doors open. When she turned around in her seat, she found his hair a bit more disheveled than before and his shirt was a bit ruffled as well. He returned to his normal seat without a word, simply crouching in his normal position before Z decided to run a hand through his hair a bit. At that point, he spoke up as she noticed a light shade of pink appear on his cheeks.

"Thanks for, uh…putting me to sleep…Luna."

After that, the whole room, excluding Light, gasped out of shock while Z simply smiled and muttered a "You're welcome, Ryuzaki~" It was a shame she forgot to tell them she had to put him to sleep just like the first time back at Wammy's.

After another long moment of watching the two, Matsuda was the first to break the silence as he looked at Soichiro Yagami.

"Um, sir," he spoke hesitantly. "Shouldn't we wake them up? They've been asleep for six hours straight."

Soichiro sighed and rubbed his temple in an attempt.

"Might as well," said Aizawa. "We can't have these two sleeping all of the time. We're wasting time working on the Kira case."

"Go ahead, Matsuda," Soichiro responded, pinching the bridge of his nose in slight annoyance. "Aizawa is right. They shouldn't be sleeping like this."

Matsuda slowly nodded before making his way toward the sleeping detectives. In his opinion, he did not want to go waking them up so soon, not when Ryuzaki was getting some well deserved sleep from everything that he has been doing for the task force. Honestly, he found that they looked very peaceful sleeping together. It looked as if an explosion would not be able to wake them up, no matter how loud it was. Granted, it may have been taking time that could have been used for the investigation, but everyone deserved some rest every once in a while. Still, it was as Soichiro said, Aizawa was right. They could not be sleeping when there was a mass murderer on the loose, killing people in an attempt to "purge the world of evil." They needed to two awake and alert in order to catch Kira, but why did it have to be _him_to wake them up, anyway?

"R-Ryuzaki, Luna, wake up," he spoke in a low tone, leaning toward them a bit, but afraid to touch any of them in order to wake them. "We need to start working on the case. It's been a little over six-"

He stopped short as his face turned pale at the sight of L's piercing, annoyed, yet fatigued eyes. Clearly, he did not want to be disturbed when he was sleeping, but he did not mean to frighten Matsuda the way he did. He would have to apologize…later. The next words the lazy looking L spoke made everyone, even Light, nearly pass out from shock:

"Not now, Matsuda. Give me five more minutes…"

With that, he was out like a light, pulling Z closer to him as if she was the most precious object in the world. She did not respond and continued to sleep, as if she did not hear anything at all, and simply nuzzled against L's chest. Matsuda, on the other hand, stood up straight and looked around the room, glancing at the expressions of everyone else. Every single person was staring at him, all of them wearing shocked or surprised expressions at the words spoken moments ago. No one knew what to say to that, no one dared to even move for fear of waking L up once again and facing his wrath. Z did not seem like a problem, for she was sleeping soundly in L's arms, but L seemed like a completely different story. The room remained silent for another few minutes before Matsuda looked over at Aizawa, who sitting on the couch just across from the sleeping detectives. His expression was also shocked at the words spoken by L himself, so much he was speechless. Matsuda had no idea what to do next. However, that question was answered by an unexpected, more pleasant sounding voice.

"You heard 'em…" said Z, her voice fatigued. "Five more minutes…"

With those words said and done, the team decided to leave the two alone, not realizing L and Z wanted to stay with one another for just a little longer; just five more minutes.


End file.
